| Desktop distros inch closer |
Jan. 26, 2009
 [Updated Jan. 27] -- MEPIS and Mandriva are testing new releases of their Linux distributions, and French project Jolicloud has posted a screen (pictured) from its upcoming netbook distro. MEPIS posted SimplyMEPIS 8.0 RC2, and Mandriva released its second alpha for Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring.
(Click for larger view of Jolicloud's App Directory)
The Jolicloud project appears to be operating in stealth mode, but judging from the above screenshot of its App Directory, its icon-based interface seems to bode well for the netbook-targeted distro, at least based on looks. Jolicloud posted the screen on Flickr, and at the same time claimed that Jolicloud is "running perfectly" on the Asus Eee PC, Dell Insipiron Mini, and other Intel Atom-based netbooks. The group also stated, "We used Linux and made it boot faster and we optimized it for surf and cloud computing. We redesigned the interface and integrated some cool stuff."
Simply late
Apparently much closer to final form is SimplyMEPIS 8.0, which has been updated to Linux kernel 2.6.27.12 in the RC2 release. In October, the West Virginia-based MEPIS community project announced the decision to base release 8.0 on 2.6.27, due to Intel driver problems and other issues with kernel 2.6.26. At the time, MEPIS founder Warren Woodward said the decision, which resulted in delays, was also made to incorporate 2.6.27 improvements, such as better IPv6 support. ISO images of the pre-release have now been published to the 'testing' subdirectory at the MEPIS Subscriber's Site and at MEPIS public mirrors, says the group.
Stated Woodford, speaking of SimplyMEPIS, "I apologize to anyone who was expecting 8.0 to be final by now. It's taking longer than I had hoped but I think we are very close to a final release. MEPIS is based on Debian Stable and our delays also give time for Lenny to become final."
SimplyMEPIS RC2 recently got a rave review for its thorough support of HP's MiniNote, suggesting it may shine on other Via-based systems to boot.
Mandriva gears up for Spring cleaning
The second alpha for Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring (2009.1) is now available, says Mandriva. New features in this release are said to primarily reflect third-party software, with core modifications due to arrive later, says the French software company.
Last October, Mandriva Linux 2009 was released, featuring a switch to KDE 4 as the default desktop, as well as improved netbook support. The Spring edition features a move to kernel 2.6.28, an upgrade to KDE 4 and GNOME 2.25.4, and the inclusion of Xfce 4.6. Apparently a glutton for cutting-edge integrations, Mandriva has made LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) its default "light" environment instead of Icewm, and there is also a new Msec GUI, which is still a work in progress, says the company. Other features are said to include Diskdrake improvements, upgrades to X.org server 1.5.99.3 and Python 2.6.1, and the availability of the Ext4 file system "in a stable module version."
According to the results of our currently running DesktopLinux Reader Survey, 3.8 percent of our readers use Mandriva, and 1.7 percent use MEPIS.
-- Eric Brown
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